Road Trip: Leg 2

Reno dawned bright, clear and freezing cold. Nothing like 26* to wake you up! We hit the road at about 9, ready for the 7 hour drive to Vegas. Once again, I took the first half of the drive so I could navigate for my ma when we hit Vegas.

This was by far the loneliest stretch of road we saw. Miles and miles and miles passed before seeing another car. We switched drivers and filled up my car about halfway, in a small town called Tonopah.

The highway is mostly 2 lanes the entire drive, making semi trucks obvious obstacles – or so you would think. It was so flat and clear that I could see past the 9 semis backed up in front of me, and was able to safely pass them all, in a row. Talk about an adrenaline rush! I think that may have pushed me past my fear of big rigs.

We saw countless old, dilapidated mining towns along the way. Nothing about them had changed except the effects that time had on their seemingly ancient buildings.

Time also did a number on the geography of Nevada, slowly eroding the countless little mountain ranges we passed along the way.

I totally nerded out over the layers of rock that glaciers, wind and rain cut through to expose the beautiful colors embedded in the rock. Shoutout to my high school geology teacher, Mr. Reaney!

These mini-mountains were the most interesting things on this leg. Every once in a while, we would see a tiny little cluster of mobile homes and shacks, backed up against these mountains and wonder “how?”. Where do they get gas, or groceries? Do they have water or electricity?

For those of you who don’t know, prostitution is legal in many parts of Nevada. It was no surprise when we passed this lovely run-down brothel in the middle of literal no-where. It seems business isn’t so hot with no towns around for miles and miles (shocker..). Kudos to the realtor who placed the for-sale sign over the E in “nude” – Nud Girls sound so much more interesting. 😂

I couldn’t believe how many of these mini-mountain ranges there were and how different they all looked! It seemed like every single one was made up of a different kind of rock.

The closer we got to Sin City, the warmer the temps got, finally reaching 67* when we rolled into town shortly before sunset. Obviously the warmth didn’t last long.. We were disappointed to walk the strip in Vegas with jackets on – it sure didn’t feel like the desert!

I didn’t feel like lugging my camera around the strip, so the rest of the photos I took were on my phone, which I uploaded to Instagram.

Click here to see more photos and videos from my road trip, along with lots of other glimpses into how I live my life through a lens.

After walking the strip, we were in bed and watching Antiques Roadshow by 9pm. What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas – even if that means watching someone discover that Grandma’s buttons are worth thousands. 😂